Shelly Yoakum v. Tyson Foods, Inc.

Amarillo, Texas, personal injury lawyers represented the Plaintiff on a premises liability theory.

This case was filed in the 251st District Court of Potter County, Texas, 111312-C-CV, and was removed to federal court by Tyson.

AI Overview
Texas premises liability law
holds property owners responsible for injuries on their property if they fail to maintain reasonably safe conditions, knowing or constructively knowing about a dangerous defect that causes harm, with the injured party typically needing to prove the owner's negligence and that the owner didn't fix or warn about the hazard. Key elements include proving the owner knew (or should have known) about the condition, failed to act with reasonable care to fix it or warn guests, and this failure directly caused the injury. The state uses comparative negligence, meaning you can still recover damages if your fault is under 51%.
Key Principles

Duty of Care: Property owners must use reasonable care to protect visitors from dangers on their property.
Negligence: To win, you must prove the owner's negligence, meaning they knew or should've known about a dangerous condition and failed to fix or warn about it.
Proving Knowledge: This can be "actual" (they knew) or "constructive" (they should have known through reasonable inspection).

Common Examples

Slip and fall on a wet floor in a store.
Falls on broken stairways or rotted porches.
Injuries from poorly maintained swimming pools.
Dog bites on someone's property.
Assaults if security is lacking.

What You Must Prove

A dangerous condition existed.
The owner knew or should have known about it.
The owner didn't fix it or warn you.
This failure caused your injury (proximate cause).

Comparative Negligence

Texas uses "modified comparative negligence," allowing recovery if your fault is less than 51%. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault.

Statute of Limitations

You generally have two years from the injury date to file a personal injury lawsuit in Texas.

02/05/2025 48 Joint STIPULATION OF DISMISSAL by Tyson Foods Inc. (Fenton, Christopher) (Entered: 02/05/2025)
02/05/2025 Civil Case Terminated. See ECF 48 . (mcrd) (Entered: 02/06/2025)